The future of fintech is international –

This week is UK Fintech Week, an opportunity to showcase the reasons why the UK has retained its position as a top destination for fintech investment in Europe.

Despite a hugely challenging global market, last year the UK received $12.5 billion in venture capital investment; this success can be attributed to the maturity of the UK’s fintech ecosystem and the unprecedented opportunities available for global collaboration.

As one of the events at this year’s UK Fintech Week, HSBC is hosting a delegation of fintechs from the Singapore Fintech Association and is hosting a roundtable with the Department of Business and Trade for Asia Pacific Fintechs, who are visiting the UK this week to discuss insights and opportunities available in the UK and across Europe for growth and expansion.

This work will build on insights from HSBC and City UK’s fintech roundtable held during the seventh UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in 2022, where HM Treasury and UK regulators, including the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, discussed collaboration between fintechs and financial institutions , the challenges facing fintech companies and how financial institutions such as HSBC can partner with fintech to support them in their international transition.

Indeed, through our Global HSBC Ventures teams and the New Economy Fund – a $200m pool to support high-growth, loss-making new economy businesses – we continue to experiment with and invest in companies, such as tax experts TAINA in the UK, and provide funding or funding to support them as they expand internationally and explore new markets.

The UK and Singapore have long enjoyed a collaborative relationship supported by the establishment of the UK-Singapore fintech bridge seven years ago.

This innovative partnership is the first of its kind to be established by the UK to help UK fintech firms and investors access the Asian market and expand into Singapore, helping those looking to use Singapore as a base for collaboration and as a gateway to other markets in the Asean region, as well as attracting Singaporean fintech companies and investors to the UK.

There is a clear opportunity for fintechs on both sides of this corridor: according to the World Economic Forum’s forecast, Asean will become the world’s fourth largest economy in the coming decade. It therefore makes sense that the region’s growing digital demand could be led by the UK and Singapore.

For Singapore, it underscores the government’s commitment to building a smart financial center that is among the best globally for innovation. For the UK, working with Singapore in this way represents an important opportunity to scale the use of technology to improve financial services across two major global financial hubs.

With the UK also able to provide valuable investment and act as a strategic ally and advisor in support of Asean’s reform agenda across digital and technology sectors, the two fintech hubs can form a framework that can be replicated across Southeast Asia.

As evidenced by the UK-Singapore corridor, the potential for collaboration is limitless. It is meaningful international collaboration that will enhance the future success of fintechs.

Shayan Hazir is Chief Digital Officer, Southeast Asia, HSBC Singapore.